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Show SUFFERING QUE TD LACKOF GOAL is lira-WIDE Fuel Administration Officials Offi-cials Redouble Efforts to Release Supplies Held on Tracks. CLEVELAND IS IN MOST DIRE STRAITS Lake Freighter Battling Its Way Through Heavy Ice Depended Upon to Relieve Re-lieve the Famine. Washington, Dec. is. -Reports of almost nation-wide suffering due to lack of coal stirred fuel administration officials offi-cials today to redoubled efforts to release supplies held on tracks by car congestion. conges-tion. Orders went forth to fuel administration administra-tion representatives in the middle west to make every attempt to move coal to points declared to be facing coal famines. A. Y. Thompson, chairman of the operating op-erating committee of eastern railroads, was called into conference by Fuel Administrator Ad-ministrator Garfield for suggestions. Tonight Dr. Garfield named C. R. Mori-arity Mori-arity of Cleveland, general director of the Middlewestern Coal Shippers' Terminal Pool association, and gave him full powers pow-ers and authority to supervise transportation. transpor-tation. Mr. Moriarity will work with Homer Johnson, federal fuel administrator administra-tor for Ohio, and W. K. Prudden, administrator admin-istrator for Michigan. Situation Serious. After his conference with Dr. Garfield, Mi-. Thompson said the situation was se-.rious, se-.rious, but ihat his committee w;. making mak-ing great progress toward relieving congestion con-gestion in tho Pittsburg terminal territory. terri-tory. The full effect of the com mil lee's efforts, he said, would not become apparent appar-ent for several days. Fuel Administrator Johnson reported from Cleveland tonight that be had started sixty carloads of coal into that city, where 100,000 men were idle today. Mr. Johnson, who has been given full powers in the matter ot distribution, said he would supply householders first, even if it forced industries to close down. Industries Must Give Way. "If the weather stays severe," he telegraphed, tele-graphed, "mv opinion Is that all industries, indus-tries, no matter how important, except In cases of vital importance for keeping a plant warm or maintaining refrigeration or something of that sort, should give way to domestic needs. The miners are not loading and the emergency will become be-come graver unless the weather moderates. moder-ates. My office is distributing all the lake coal available to domestic consumers consum-ers and we are trying to make up a trainload for country distribution for the northwest part of the state." Many Calls for Help. The fuel administration tonight turned to the car service commission for aid In getting coal to shipbuilding plants at Cleveland and TjOiaine, Ohio, and Detroit, De-troit, Mich., where seventy-two merchant vessels are under construction for the government. The head of the plant wired today that he would he forced to suspend operations unless given fuel immediately. Reports from New York today told of widesrpead suffering In the city and state. The New York City board of hea.lth wired that thousands of children were cold nnd that an epidemic of pneumonia pneu-monia was feared. At Quincv, Mass., the Fore Kiver plant of the Bethlehem Shipbuilding company Is runnlnc- on short time because there is no coal to be had, and the government arsenal at Wotertown, Mass., will shut down December 18 if coa.l is not obtained. In. Bea.ver Valley, Pa., women and children chil-dren were reported to be housed in churches and schools that they might keep warm. I Street car system in many towns also are threatened with suspension because i of lack of fuel. SUFFERING ILL OVER TIE 1MTED STATES (Continued from Page One.) ( srihMHo con Id 'be employed as well in the. other sections of the country, tho preat-o.sL preat-o.sL possible- measure nf relief would bo brought about speedily. |